Mr. Speaker, Saskatchewan farmers are caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. Farmers say the devil in this case is the minister responsible for the wheat board who seems incapable of getting the grain moving from prairie elevators to port.

A private supermarket can get thousands of products to thousands of consumers on the very day they need any one of them, but the wheat board cannot get one product to one port in the month the customer wants it let alone the right day. The government blames the railways, the railways blame the wheat board and the farmers pay. Bureaucratic inefficiency has cost farmers between $65 million and $115 million.

Some farmers in the Yorkton—Melville area have been denied this year's initial payment from the wheat board because they have not been able to pay back last year's initial payment. And why is that? They have not been able to sell their grain because all the elevators are plugged, again thanks to government intervention in the marketplace.

Farmers are telling me it is time for an exorcism to get the devil out of the grain transportation system in the prairies.

Mr. Speaker, on Wednesday residents of Vaughan—King—Aurora gathered at St. Joan of Arc High School in Maple to discuss the Speech from the Throne and the government agenda for the next few years.

Residents were united in their desire for the government to stay the course on deficit reduction. They agreed that a balanced budget is essential to our nation's economic health. They approved of the government's plan to invest in key areas of the economy such as trade and technology, but they urged caution, calling for wise investments that produce results.

The residents also applauded the government's continued resolve in the area of youth unemployment and took the opportunity to call on local businesses, community organizations and all levels of government to continue to work together to create opportunities for youth. Residents also discussed the importance of preserving and improving our health care system and expressed their support for an efficient, affordable and effective pharmacare and home care programs. They want the federal government to continue to exercise leadership to ensure Canada remains a strong and united country.

Mr. Speaker, Quebec is an open and tolerant nation made up from people of every ethnic background and various religious faiths, who came from every corner of the world to find in our province a sense of freedom.

Today is the first day of an intense and important time of year for thousands of our fellow citizens. On behalf of the sovereignists in Quebec, I would like to wish a happy new year to the Jewish community in Quebec and in Canada. Rosh Hashanah , the Jewish new year, marks the beginning of a Holy week culminating with Yom Kippur , the Day of Atonement. What better occasion to gather with one's family and friends to reflect on the old year and the new.

We take this opportunity to wish them peace, happiness and health in the new year. Shana Tova .

Mr. Speaker, October 6 will mark the beginning of national family week. Each year thousands of communities across Canada celebrate this special occasion. Family Service Canada in partnership with Health Canada is working to improve the well-being of the family. Throughout the years it has worked to lay the foundation for positive family relationships and communication in family friendly communities.

We are celebrating world teachers day on October 5. It is a day to reflect on the importance of education and the contributions of teachers to education.

I see a correlation between education, teaching and the family. Let us celebrate what we have done but keep in mind that we have more to do.

Mr. Speaker, Senator Andrew Thompson is one of the reasons why Canadians have such a low opinion of our upper House.

Senator Thompson's attendance record is the worst in the Senate. He shows up about once every two years and yet he continues to collect his pay cheque of around $85,000 per year.

This not only brings into question the internal workings of the Senate, but obviously senators cannot or refuse to police themselves. It also begs the question that if the prime minister has the power to appoint senators should he not have the power to dismiss senators.

As Mr. Thompson is a former Ontario Liberal leader, it is doubtful our prime minister would toss him out despite Senator Thompson's being the most rotten apple in an ancient—

I would encourage all hon. members to be very judicious. I did not know exactly where the member was going in his statement, but as a general rule we do not criticize specifically members of the other House.

Mr. Speaker, on Sunday, October 5 Canadians from across the country will run for the cure. They will be running, walking and jogging in support of breast cancer research.

The CIBC, the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation and an expected 50,000 participants in 18 cities across this country are hoping to raise $3 million for breast cancer research, education, diagnosis and treatment. I am proud to be part of that effort.

I am reminded of those who came before us in this fight, Ms. Pat Kelly and the Breast Cancer Action Group who fought hard to overcome systemic barriers to raising money for breast cancer research but, more important, fought to gain a voice for women in determining how breast cancer research dollars would be spent.

The run is the main fundraising event of this year for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. One of the many accomplishments of the foundation has been the establishment of the first Canadian chair on breast cancer research located at Women's College Hospital in Toronto.

Mr. Speaker, from October 3 to 5, Jonquière will be, for the first time, host to the rally of the Conseil québécois du patrimoine vivant, the fifth in its history.

Jonquière, which is celebrating its 150th anniversary, is a great place to hold this momentous event. Under the theme “La grande criée d'automne au Saguenay—Lac-St-Jean”, this event will showcase, through conferences, workshops and performances, the various aspects of our region's heritage, including folk tales, traditions, legends and heritage sites.

I join with my hon. colleague from Jonquière and take this opportunity to extend our welcome to everyone visiting our beautiful region and to thank the Corporation de sauvegarde du patrimoine de Jonquière and the William Price interpretation centre for their contribution to these activities.

Mr. Speaker, none of us expect when we start out each day that our homes or offices might be destroyed by fire. Yet it was on a busy day much like this 81 years ago that our predecessors in the House of Commons found themselves in the heart of an inferno.

On February 4, 1916 Canada lost its original Parliament Buildings to a horrific destructive fire. That tragic event serves as a reminder that fire can strike any time, anywhere and no one is immune to it.

From October 5 to October 11 Canada will observe fire prevention week to remind Canadians of the danger of fire, to promote fire prevention and to honour the dedicated firefighters across this country who risk their lives for the safety of others.

Each year in Canada fire claims hundreds of lives and incurs hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. The latest statistics for 1995 show that 62,346 fires resulted in 389 deaths, 3,792 injuries and a direct property loss of over $1 billion—

Mr. Speaker, given that the government's policy is to create jobs, and that this can only be achieved in a strong and growing economy, I find it hard to understand the Bank of Canada's decision to increase its rate, when there is no indication of a rise in inflation.

The chartered banks immediately doubled the rate increase set by the Bank of Canada. This could generate some concern among Canadians who, in the past, have been hard hit because of high interest rates, with a large number of businesses having to fold and many families nearly went going bankrupt because of high mortgage rates.

The government's policy of attempting to control our economy by manipulating interest rates must be questioned. It continues to cause our economy to lurch from boom to bust and by this every move turning the stock markets and serves only to make increased profits for financial—

Mr. Speaker, yesterday a Tory member questioned the government and its ministers on allegation of influence peddling and improper fundraising. These allegations are being raised ironically by a member of the Tory Party. We will long remember names like Cogger, LaSalle and Moores who faced criminal charges while members of the Tory administration.

Presently the Tory leader is raising money in Saskatchewan and perhaps stopping in on the trial of Senator Bernston who is facing charges of criminal fraud. Maybe he will visit the group of convicted Tory felons who now call the Regina correctional institute their home away from home.

It is this type of Liberal-Tory hypocrisy which breeds voter cynicism. Reform is here to bring integrity back to the House of Commons.

Mr. Speaker, on Wednesday, the hon. member for Rimouski—Mitis deemed it necessary to explain, in the House, her disparaging remarks concerning French Canadians.

She denied calling us second class citizens. Yet, the official report of the Debates reads, and I quote: “As a French Canadian, I am a second class citizen”. The member went on to say that francophones outside Quebec could count on her support.

I say to the Bloc Quebecois member that we French Canadians outside Quebec have no use for the kind of support Bloc members have been giving us from time to time since they arrived in this place, by using our problems to promote their separatist goal. Such negative support is harmful to our cause and we can easily do without it.